Night Changes
by yume-no-naka7
Summary: Three years have passed ever since her death and when Rikuo happens to see a child who looks like his old friend, he is determined to find out the truth. A/N: Story takes place right after the end of the manga. Pairings are not sure yet.


**Night Changes**

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><p>AN: This story continues from the end of the manga. I'm not sure on the pairing.

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><p><em>*Chapter 1: Remembering Her<em>

The yuki-onna stood by a tree, silently observing her beloved master. Every year when winter was on the verge of fading away and spring came along to switch places, her master would come and sit in front of this particular tombstone. He would come before sunset and stay 'till the early morning of the next day.

"It's been three years since then," Kubinashi said, sitting on a tree branch. He stared at the sitting Rikuo. On the back of his robe was the emblem of the Nura clan. The string-user crossed his arms and leaned against the tree with his eyes shut. _Rihan-sama, I failed to protect one of your most cherished people. Rikuo-sama has been in pain for these past years. Forgive me, Rihan-sama._

"Master," Tsurara whispered behind her scarf, walking over to her master. She didn't want to interrupt his time with the deceased girl but she didn't want him to freeze in the coldness of the night. She unwrapped her scarf and gently wrapped it around his neck. She said softly, "Please keep yourself healthy, master."

"Thanks, yuki-onna." He didn't look at her when he said that, for his eyes were glued to the name on the tombstone: Ienaga Kana.

Tsurara gave him a pat on his back and retreated back to her position by the tree. She yearned to comfort him, but he would simply tell her that he'd like to spend some time alone like he did the years before. She kept her amber eyes on her master as she thought about the dear friend of her master. Ienaga Kana had been Rikuo's childhood friend. They attended the same elementary and middle schools. Unfortunately, they couldn't attend the same high school since the human girl had died near the end of middle school.

The yuki-onna released a painful sigh and a puff of frost drifted out from her mouth. She stood her ground, blinking furiously as she tried not to cry. On the edge of her eyes were tiny crystalized tears. She burrowed her face into her scarf, only to remember that she had just gave it to her master. She held her head high and stared at the moon. _I must not cry. I must be strong for master! _

"Yuki-onna, you might as well as cry," Kejoro said, walking out from the trees with blankets in her hands. She smiled. "I brought some blankets just in case you all get cold."

Tsurara shook her head. "I'm not going to cry. Geez, don't assume things!"

The busty youkai chuckled in response and tossed a blanket to Kubinashi.

"You're welcome, Kubinashi," she said before he could even thank her. Kubinashi gave her a smirk-smile in response. Kejoro gave Tsurara one and as she was just about to head over to Rikuo, a hand held her back.

"What now, yuki-onna?" Kejoro said, turning to look at the young youkai.

"I'll give it to master."

Kejoro laughed. "Nope. You already gave him your scarf. I'll drape this lovely blanket over him."

The yuki-onna let go of Kejoro's arm, eyeing the woman's back fiercely as she gleefully went to their master.

…

"Supreme Commander! Rikuo-sama is missing!" Natto shouted. The tiny youkai came running to Nurarihyon who sat in the outside hallway, smoking on his pipe.

Nurarihyon chuckled. "Don't panic so much, Natto. Do you know what today is?"

"The..." Natto's eyes widened. He facepalmed on the the wooden floor of the hallway. "I'm so stupid!"

Nurarihyon let out a puff of smoke as he said somberly, "Yes, today is a sad day for Rikuo."

Natto took a seat next to his commander. "He is visiting her grave again, Nurarihyon-sama?"

The old youkai simply nodded as he gazed at the moon. After moments of silence, he asked thoughtfully, "How would it feel like to live life as a human, Natto?"

"I think it would be hard. Humans are weak, compared to us youkai. And they don't even live that long."

Nurarihyon quirked a brow. "Compared to us, Youhime didn't live that long; but compared to Youhime, that human girl died quite young. How old was she again, Natto?"

"Uh...thirteen, I believe?"

"Indeed, she died even younger than Youhime," Nurarihyon muttered, placing his pipe back to his lips. Youhime lived until she was an elderly lady whereas the human girl had yet to have a single wrinkle etched on her face.

…

Rikuo stared at the bouquet of flowers lying in front of the tombstone. The flowers were still fresh. He assumed that Kiyotsugu and the others had visited Kana's grave earlier today. He traced a finger on her engraved name. Who would thought that she would be the first to die? He surely hadn't thought of that. He thought that he was capable of protecting his friends, _all _of them. After all, he had defeated the Hyaku Monogatari Clan, the Gokadoin Clan, and Hagoromo Gitsune. He had managed to save his town from the Shikoku youkai and now, they were his ally.

For these past three years, he wondered how he managed to overcome all these obstacles and at the end of this long fight, he had to lose someone important. _Was it because I let my guard down? Did I think everything was okay?_

Rikuo sat and remembered what happened three years ago. After the fight with Nue, he was severely injured, stripped of his fear. Hagoromo Gitsune took him to the village of half-demons. It was a very interesting village, a place where youkai and humans peacefully existed together. It was there that Rihan and Yamabuki Otome reunited. Hagoromo Gitsune left with her followers and Rikuo, having completely healed, returned back to Ukiyoe town.

When he arrived at his house, there was a grand celebration. His human friends were invited as well as his youkai friends/followers. It was a swell party, he'd never forget it. Everyone he cherished was there.

Life in Ukiyoe town and all across the youkai world of Japan had settled down. He continued going to school and as spring came, his middle school years were coming to an end as well. He remembered his mom getting excited that her baby boy was graduating from middle school and soon entering high school. Heck, she wanted to throw another party. He remembered having a talk with the clan, some wanted him to solely focus on the clan and some were willing to accept his choice of wanting to finish high school before fully taking on the clan. He could bear going to high school and being the third commander of the Nura clan simultaneously.

And as their promotion ceremony neared, the cherry blossom trees began to bloom. Their sweet scent circulated throughout all of town. He remembered walking to school, breathing in the aroma of blooming flowers. Spring was a beautiful time. That was until he arrived at the murder scene, spotting her dead body.

A couple days before the promotion ceremony, a group of stray youkai launched an attack. They had spread out all over town; some killed in the people-bustling center of Ukiyoe town. Others killed in the streets of homes, some killed in the park and the shrines. By the time the Nura clansmen had dispersed all over town and fought against the youkais, the ambulances were scrambling all over town to retrieve the injured survivors and the already deceased ones.

Rikuo was standing on the roof of a building, surveying the damage. Kuroumaru soared through the night sky and descended next to Rikuo with his head bowed.

"Are they okay?" Rikuo asked.

Kuroumaru nodded. "I checked on the boys, they're fine. Not a single mark on them, Rikuo-sama."

Sasami appeared. "The two girls are fine as well. One of the girls was missing, Rikuo-sama. They said Ienaga Kana had left them a while ago. Her whereabouts are unknown."

"Search the town," Rikuo ordered, already leaping roofs.

"Hai," the crow siblings stated, flapping their wings away into the sky.

Rikuo jumped off the roof and dashed through the streets. He heard people talking about the killings at the shrines and when he spotted Yura merging from her street onto the street he was on, he followed her. Why did he follow her? He could tell from the look on her face that she knew what had happened to Kana. She only had that dark, serious, killer-intent expression on her face when someone said something insulting about her dear ones. He had seen that look when they were fighting in Kyoto.

"Yura!" he shouted as the girl hastily ascended the stairs, eager to reach the shrine. "Watch out!"

A youkai lunged out from the trees, ready to claw at the onmyoji who summoned her wolf shikigami. Rikuo quickly caught up to Yura, saying, "Where's Kana-chan?"

Yura's expression turned grim. "She's here. I just hope we're not too late."

When they reached the top of the stairs, they were faced with several dead bodies. Females and males laid on the ground with puddles of blood around their limp body. There was a youkai crouched over a boy's body, munching on the boy's wrist as he drunk the blood.

"Yura max!" the onmyoji shouted, obliterating the youkai.

Hearing sobs and wailing, Rikuo ran to the shrine. He spotted the shrine deity weeping uncontrollably and asked, "What's wrong? Where are the other youkai?"

"I-I-I couldn't protect my believers!" she stuttered, trying to calm herself. Rikuo spotted the bloody cuts on the deity's arm. "They had come to me, wishing good for their children, wishing good for their future school lives, wishing good for their classmates and friends! I heard their wishes. Then, we were attacked by youkai! They killed everyone here and fled!"

She wiped the overflowing tears away from her yellow eyes and bowed, pressing her face to the ground. "I have failed to protect the people you work so hard to protect, Nura-sama. Forgive me."

"Nura-kun," Yura said somberly, standing in front of the broken shrine door. "Ienaga-san is dead."

Rikuo ran out of the shrine, not believing what he just heard. "Where is she, Yura?"

"By the lanterns over there."

Rikuo ceased breathing when he spotted Kana, still dressed in her school uniform, lying on the grass with blood stained on her top. Her face was pale. Her eyes were shut. Her lips were slightly parted. In her hand was a charm.

"Master!" Tsurara shouted, panting from the run to ascend the long stairs. She had quickly disposed of her opponent when she heard that the young leader was at the shrine near her location. "The youkai have been defeated!"

Tsurara ran over, concerned since Rikuo did not respond. She skidded to a stop when she recognized the human lying on the grass by the wall of charms and covered her mouth with the sleeve of her white furisode. She glanced at Rikuo warily. He was probably in shock. "M-master..."

Sensing several presences behind her, the yuki-onna whirled around to hush her fellow members of the Nura clan. Kubinashi looked over her shoulder, eyes widening at the familiar human now dead. Kejoro shut her eyes and shook her head at the sight. Aotabo and Kurotabo declined their heads.

"Where is the leader?" Rikuo said with an eery calmness to his voice.

Tsurara stood frozen from the fear he was suddenly exuding. She tried to open her mouth but couldn't. Kubinashi stepped forward. "The leader was killed in battle, Rikuo-sama."

He clenched his sword. There was no way he could avenge Kana now.

"A-ano," Tsurara said, managing to speak now. "What's going on?"

Yura, Rikuo, and the others all turned to look at the sight before them. The wall full of charms was glowing. Certain charms bursted into glittering dust, some remained on the wall. The lanterns glowed in the dark as the cherry blossom trees shook, its petals scattering and whirling and dancing in the air.

"What's with the wall?" Aotabo muttered.

The deity of the shrine appeared, clutching the sleeve of her kimono as she tried to make herself look presentable. "Let me explain. This is the wall where the humans put their charms. They write their wish on the back of the paper charm and place it on the wall. That is how they connect their feelings to me. The charms that are disappearing are the wishes that are directed to the ones who just died. The charm serves no purpose now that the person has died. I cannot grant a dead person a wish he wanted when he was alive."

Rikuo spotted the charm in Kana's hand. Did she not wish for herself then?

The deity continued explaining, "The ones that remain are directed to those alive. That, I can grant."

Rikuo walked over to Kana and gently hooked his arm underneath her knees and neck. "I'm taking Kana-chan to the house so Zen can take a look at her."

Yura shook her head. "You can't, Nura-kun."

Red eyes stared back at the onmyoji. "And why not?"

"Because Ienaga-san is dead. You can't bring her back to life. Let the ambulance take her to the hospital where they can contact her parents, Nura-kun. It's only right that they get to see their only child."

"Rikuo-sama, the onmyoji girl has a point," Kubinashi stated. "We will attend her funeral."

Rikuo looked away from Yura and set Kana on the ground. Her charm fluttered onto the grass and her wish was revealed to him: _I wish for all of us to be happy._

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><p>AN: What do you think?


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